Bhubaneswar: As another step towards Good Governance, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra inaugurated the Workshop on simplifying the use of Aadhara held under the joint auspices of the Government of Odisha and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) today in Lokseba Bhawan conference hall.
In his inaugural address, Mahapatra told “Simplifying the use of Aadhar accelerates ease of living while ensuring effective and accurate delivery of various public services”. He advised different departments to “have detail interaction with UIDAI officers in the workshop and get all their doubts clarified for enhancing the use of Aadhar numbers”. He also advised UIDAI to keep on updating the Aadhar data and biometric impressions periodically, more particularly the biometrics of babies and children, so that the data in the Aadhar portal does not get obsolete in course of time. Sri Mahapatra also emphasized on enrolment of newborn babies, and old and infirm people who were not able to come over to Aadhar enrolment centres.
Further, Mahapatra asked UIDAI to integrate Aadhar-related services with Mo Seva Kendras ( MSKs) so that people in remote pockets get the chance for new enrolment and registration of required changes in Aadhar data. It may be pertinent to mention here that presently 5923 MSKYs are operating in the State at block, GP and ward levels. These Kendras are gaining rapid popularity, and the number of people using these Kendras is on a constant increase.
The Chief Secretary added that the use of Aadhar authentication in the public distribution system, paddy procurement, farmer welfare schemes like Kalia, different types and scholarships, and disbursement of benefits under various social security schemes in Odisha has yielded amazing results. Sri Mahapatra also advised UIDAI to undertake intensive awareness programmes about the various benefits of possessing a valid and updated Aadhar card.
Chief Executive Officer of UIDAI Dr Saurav Garg said, “Odisha is a lead and robust user State of Aadhar data. Adhara registration in the age group of 18 and above is reaching cent per cent. Dr Garg gave an overarching view on the uses and utilities of Aadhar, and termed Aadhar as a “key identifier of inclusive growth”. He added that district-level committees would be formed for monitoring the proper use and enrolment of Aadhar.
The workshop was held in three different sessions’ viz. Keynote and Inaugural session, Technical and Valedictory session. Themes like recent initiatives for expanding the uses of Aadhar, Aadhar and effective e-Governance, State initiatives and best practices, Aadhar payment bridge, Aadhar in direct transfer of benefits, enhancing Aadhar enrolment eco-system etc were discussed in the workshop.
Development Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena presided over the valedictory session. In his valedictory address, Jena lighted on the use of Aadhar in the enhancement of targeted and inclusive growth, and peoples’ satisfaction. He emphasized on creation of the Aadhar ecosystem at the ground level through proper convergence.
Additional Chief Secretary Revenue and Disaster Management Satyabrata Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary Water Resources Smt Anu Garg, Principal Secretary Finance Vishal Kumar Dev, Principal Secretary Agriculture Dr Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Secretary Electronics and Information Technology Manoj Kumar Mishra along with senior officers of various departments participated in the workshop. Experts namely P. Sangeetha, Amit Bhargav, Sumesh Joshi, Sudhipta Nayak, Ansuman Kamila, and D. Bhaskara Rao spoke on the above-mentioned themes.
